The opening credits state that "China Clipper" is a fictional account of the history of trans-Pacific flight. Pat O'Brien portrays hard charging Dave Logan, sacrificing comfort and his own marriage to pursue a dream of developing long distance freight travel via air. Inspired by Charles Lindbergh's New York to Paris flight, Logan assembles a loyal team of mechanics and pilots and tests their patience every step of the way with his hard as nails, ruthless demeanor.
Logan's business partner is Tom Collins (Ross Alexander), while Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart) pops up as a former friend of Logan who yearns to get back in the cockpit. The pioneering team is rounded out by Dad Brunn (Henry B. Walthall), a design engineer who's constantly challenged by Logan to come up with larger and faster planes. So one minded is Logan in pursuit of his dream that it costs him his wife Skippy (Beverly Roberts). Though they wind up reconciled by the end of the film, one wonders why she bothered hanging in there when all she ever got was a flag for interference in virtually every scene between the two.
At least Collins and Hap had the spirit to challenge Logan every now and then. Sometimes it worked, most times it didn't. Logan's vision generally achieved success after success and it was uncanny how Bogey's character managed to make the four day flight from California to the China Coast without mishap, flying through a typhoon and beating the clock by a mere five minutes to make a harrowing deadline. The plane making the Pacific flight is a rather gawky looking affair but it holds up under the stress of hurricane force rains and the news of Dad Brunn's death. What was disconcerting though was watching as two mechanics on the ground give the giant plane a push as it was taking off; could that have helped that much?
If you're a Pat O'Brien fan used to his roles like Father Jerry in "Angels With Dirty Faces", you'll be in for a bit of a surprise to see him in as one dimensional a role as his Logan character here. There's not one time you might sympathize with his character as he's always barking orders and being relentless in his quest. That would be OK in it's own right, but he doesn't even waver when Skippy tries to soften him up a bit. As tough as his character is here though, he gets downright nasty as a plantation owner in 1940's "Torrid Zone" opposite James Cagney. Both films are recommended to demonstrate O'Brien's range as an actor.
O'Brien teamed with Humphrey Bogart in four films for Warner Brothers and was top billed over Bogey in each. They include "The Great O'Malley" (1937), "San Quentin" (1937), and "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1938). Except for "Angels", the rest are not available commercially to my knowledge, so you'll have to scour the cable channels or get hold of a collector copy. All are worth it for fans of the principal players.
Logan's business partner is Tom Collins (Ross Alexander), while Hap Stuart (Humphrey Bogart) pops up as a former friend of Logan who yearns to get back in the cockpit. The pioneering team is rounded out by Dad Brunn (Henry B. Walthall), a design engineer who's constantly challenged by Logan to come up with larger and faster planes. So one minded is Logan in pursuit of his dream that it costs him his wife Skippy (Beverly Roberts). Though they wind up reconciled by the end of the film, one wonders why she bothered hanging in there when all she ever got was a flag for interference in virtually every scene between the two.
At least Collins and Hap had the spirit to challenge Logan every now and then. Sometimes it worked, most times it didn't. Logan's vision generally achieved success after success and it was uncanny how Bogey's character managed to make the four day flight from California to the China Coast without mishap, flying through a typhoon and beating the clock by a mere five minutes to make a harrowing deadline. The plane making the Pacific flight is a rather gawky looking affair but it holds up under the stress of hurricane force rains and the news of Dad Brunn's death. What was disconcerting though was watching as two mechanics on the ground give the giant plane a push as it was taking off; could that have helped that much?
If you're a Pat O'Brien fan used to his roles like Father Jerry in "Angels With Dirty Faces", you'll be in for a bit of a surprise to see him in as one dimensional a role as his Logan character here. There's not one time you might sympathize with his character as he's always barking orders and being relentless in his quest. That would be OK in it's own right, but he doesn't even waver when Skippy tries to soften him up a bit. As tough as his character is here though, he gets downright nasty as a plantation owner in 1940's "Torrid Zone" opposite James Cagney. Both films are recommended to demonstrate O'Brien's range as an actor.
O'Brien teamed with Humphrey Bogart in four films for Warner Brothers and was top billed over Bogey in each. They include "The Great O'Malley" (1937), "San Quentin" (1937), and "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1938). Except for "Angels", the rest are not available commercially to my knowledge, so you'll have to scour the cable channels or get hold of a collector copy. All are worth it for fans of the principal players.